Hutchinson not keeping Tennille at economic agency LITTLE ROCK (AP) — Arkansas Gov.-elect Asa Hutchinson says he's not keeping the state's chief economic development official when he takes office next year. The incoming Republican governor on Friday said he had decided not to keep Grant Tennille as the Arkansas Economic Development Commission's director. Hutchinson, who defeated Democrat and fellow ex-congressman Mike Ross in the Nov. 4 election, said his transition steering committee is alrea...

Entergy announcing new center in Little Rock LITTLE ROCK (AP) — Entergy is announcing construction of a new $23-million transmission operations center that will be one of two twin centers in the corporation's four-state service area. Groundbreaking on the project is set Monday in Little Rock. Before this year, Entergy had five such centers and one system operating center in cities throughout its service area. The company says it's consolidating those operations into two locations to impr...

All 75 counties OK minimum wage hike LITTLE ROCK (AP) — Every county in Arkansas supported a ballot measure to gradually increase the state's minimum wage to $8.50 by 2017. The initiated act was easily approved in Tuesday's election and enjoyed widespread support throughout the state. The measure was supported in all 75 counties. Throughout the state, voters enthusiastically embraced the plan, which raises the minimum wage to $7.50 an hour in 2015, to $8 in 2016 and to $8.50 in 2...

Arkansas sees revenue rise in October LITTLE ROCK (AP) — Arkansas finance officials say the state's revenue rose in October and is above year-to-date expectations. The Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration said Tuesday that net available revenue in October totaled $402.8 million. That's $30.0 million more than last year and $18.2 million above the state's forecast. The report said sales tax collections accounted for $7.7 million of the gain for the month and corporate ...

State Supreme Court remands alcohol question LITTLE ROCK (AP) — A sharply divided Arkansas Supreme Court has sent a proposal to legalize alcohol sales in Saline County back to circuit court to determine if there are enough valid signatures to put the question on the Nov. 4 ballot. Circuit Judge Grisham Phillips ruled last month that the petition fell nearly 90 signatures short after more than 150 signatures were disqualified. The group Our Community, Our Dollars argued there are enough v...

Wal-Mart ups ante on holiday shopping NEW YORK (AP) — Wal-Mart is doing whatever it takes to rope in holiday shoppers however they want to buy. For the first time, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is offering free shipping on what it considers the season's top 100 hottest gifts, from board games to items related to Disney's hit film "Frozen" items, starting Saturday. The move comes as rival Target Corp. began offering free shipping on all items, a program that started late October and will la...

Temporary hold placed on hog farm permits MOUNT JUDEA (AP) — Officials have put another temporary hold on new permits for hog farms near the Buffalo National River in northern Arkansas. It's the second moratorium placed on the permits for large or medium hog farms. The moratorium stems from a permit the state's environmental quality department issued for the C&H Hog Farm to operate, the Baxter Bulletin reported. Environmentalists have feared farm waste could taint the river, but studi...

Bridgestone celebrates 50 years of commitmentDozens of Bridgestone executives and employees joined members of the community Thursday to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Firestone plant in Russellville. The celebration included remarks from Scott Gateley, general manager of Firestone; John Vasuta, president of GCR Tires and Service; Russellville Mayor Bill Eaton; Johnny Johnson, athletic director of the Russellville School District; and Mack Hollis, director of the Russellville Recre...

Court: Voters will consider Arkansas liquor issue LITTLE ROCK (AP) — Arkansas' highest court said Thursday that voters will be able to consider a proposal to expand liquor sales statewide, rejecting arguments that the idea's backers missed a key deadline and failed to adequately tell people what a "yes" vote means. In a unanimous decision, the Arkansas Supreme Court said it was proper for Secretary of State Mark Martin to move a filing deadline from the Independence Day holiday to the next bu...

Company announces $37M investment in Gurdon mill GURDON (AP) — Georgia-Pacific says it plans invest $37 million at its lumber operations in Gurdon to expand production capacity at the lumber mill by about 60 percent. Improvements at the mill include installing a new continuous dry kiln and planer mill, among other infrastructure improvements. The project is expected to be finished next year. The company said Thursday that it's also considering additional investments — totaling about $20 mill...

Wal-Mart cuts sales outlook amid tough economy NEW YORK (AP) — Wal-Mart Stores Inc. cut its revenue outlook for its current fiscal year as it announced it is scaling back its expansion plans for its supercenters next year and stepping up investments in its online operations. The world's largest retailer, blaming an overall tough economy, now expects annual sales to be up 2 to 3 percent for its fiscal year ending in January. That is down from its earlier guidance of sales growth at the low ...

Wal-Mart lowers revenue outlook for year Wal-Mart Stores Inc. says a tougher sales environment will hurt its revenue this fiscal year. The retailer already warned investors in February that it would come in at the low end of its earlier forecast of 3 to 5 percent gains. Wal-Mart said Wednesday that it now expects its revenue will be up 2 to 3 percent over the prior fiscal year, when it generated $473.1 billion. That calculates to a forecast of roughly $482.6 billion to $487.3 billion...

'Private option' enrollment jumps to nearly 205K LITTLE ROCK (AP) — The Arkansas Department of Human Service says nearly 205,000 people have enrolled in the state's Medicaid expansion program that extends health care coverage to low-income residents. The department announced Wednesday that 204,811 people had completed enrollment in the "private option" program as of Sept. 30. That's an increase of more than 10,000 from the Aug. 31 tally. The agency says the majority of enrollees are between ...

Do you need ID theft insurance?You’d have to be living under a rock not to be concerned about identity theft. It seems like every other month there’s a new report about another massive data breach somewhere in the world. Not surprisingly, a thriving industry has sprung up around helping to protect consumers from identity theft. Most of these services are pretty expensive and many consumer organizations argue that they merely take actions you could easily carry out yourself ...